Method and apparatus for generating mood-based haptic feedback

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for generating mood-based haptic feedback are disclosed. A haptic system includes a sensing device, a digital processing unit, and a haptic generator. The sensing device, in one embodiment, is configured to detect user&#39;s modalities in accordance with mood information collected by one or more sensors and capable of issuing a sensing signal in response to the user&#39;s modalities. The digital processing unit is capable of identifying a user&#39;s condition in accordance with the sensing signal and providing a haptic signal in response to the user&#39;s condition. The user&#39;s condition, in one aspect, indicates user&#39;s mood and/or user&#39;s psychological conditions. The haptic generator generates haptic feedback in accordance with the haptic signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/214,604, filed on Aug. 22, 2011, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/274,152,filed on Nov. 19, 2008 and issued on Aug. 23, 2011 as U.S. Pat. No.8,004,391. The entire content of both applications are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD

The exemplary embodiment(s) of the present invention relates to thefield of electronic communications. More specifically, the exemplaryembodiment(s) of the present invention relates to communications usinghaptic feedbacks.

BACKGROUND

As computer-based systems, appliances, automated teller machines (ATM),point of sale terminals and the like become more prevalent, the ease ofuse of the human-machine interface is becoming more important. Suchinterfaces should operate intuitively and require little or no usertraining whereby they can be used by virtually anyone. Many conventionaluser interface devices are available on the market, such as key boards,mouse, joysticks, and touch screens. One of the more intuitive andinteractive interface devices known is the touch sensitive panel, whichcan be a touch screen or a touch pad. A touch screen includes a touchsensitive input panel and a display device, and provides a user with amachine interface through a panel sensitive to the user's touch anddisplaying content that the user can see and then “touch.”

Conventional human-machine interfaces, such as keyboard, voice, andtouch screen, typically require visual assistance or look during theinterface operation. For instance, when a user inputs his or herselection(s) over a touch screen, the user needs to look and/or identifythe location to be touched. Also, when a user operates a mouse, the userneeds to see the movement of an icon on the screen before he or she canpress the click button.

A problem associated with the conventional human-machine interfaces isthat sometimes visual assistance is not available during the operationof human-machine interface. For example, a truck driver or a pilot oftenneeds to keep his or her vision on driving or flying, and thus, cannotlook at the interface device during an input/selection operation. Also,a worker may not be able to hear audible instructions in a noisyenvironment.

SUMMARY

The embodiment(s) of the present invention includes a haptic systemcapable of generating mood-based haptic feedback and method for makingthe same. A haptic system includes a sensing device, a digitalprocessing unit, and a haptic generator. The sensing device, in oneembodiment, is configured to detect user's modalities in accordance withmood information collected by one or more sensors and is capable ofissuing a sensing signal in response to the user's modalities. Thedigital processing unit is capable of identifying a user's condition inaccordance with the sensing signal and providing a haptic signal inresponse to the user's condition. The user's condition, in one aspect,indicates user's mood or user's psychological conditions. The hapticgenerator generates haptic feedback in accordance with the hapticsignal.

Additional features and benefits of the exemplary embodiment(s) of thepresent invention will become apparent from the detailed description,figures and claims set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exemplary embodiment(s) of the present invention will be understoodmore fully from the detailed description given below and from theaccompanying drawings of various embodiments of the invention, which,however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specificembodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a haptic system capable of generatingmood-based haptic sensation in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application of anautomobile environment having a mood-based haptic system in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary application in a videogame environment having a mood-based haptic system in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a mood-based haptic system capable of communicatingwith other devices in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a processing device capable of processing mood-basedhaptic information in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing mood-basedhaptic feedback in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the contextof a method, system and apparatus for providing mood-based hapticfeedback in response to one or more events using a portable hapticdevice.

Those of ordinary skills in the art will realize that the followingdetailed description of the present invention is illustrative only andis not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of thepresent invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilledpersons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now bemade in detail to implementations of the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The samereference indicators (or numbers) will be used throughout the drawingsand the following detailed description to refer to the same or likeparts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the standard hardware and routinefeatures of the implementations described herein are shown anddescribed. It will, of course, be understood that in the development ofany such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specificdecisions need to be made in order to achieve the developer's specificgoals, such as compliance with application- and business-relatedconstraints, and that these specific goals will vary from oneimplementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover,it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complexand time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking ofengineering for those of ordinary skills in the art having the benefitof this disclosure.

The embodiment(s) of the present invention includes a haptic systemcapable of generating mood-based haptic feedback and method for makingthe same. A haptic system includes a sensing device, a digitalprocessing unit, and a haptic generator. The sensing device, in oneembodiment, employs sensors to sense mood information indicating user'smodalities and subsequently issues a sensing signal according to theuser's modalities. Upon receipt of the sensing signal(s), the digitalprocessing unit identifies a user's condition or mood. After generatinga haptic signal according to the user's condition, a haptic generatorgenerates haptic feedback in response to the haptic signal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram 100 illustrating a haptic system capable ofgenerating mood-based haptic sensation in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. Diagram 100 includes a first portable device102, a communications network 104, and a second portable device 106. Inone embodiment, portable devices 102 and 106 can communicate with oneanother via network 104 which may include one or more communicationsnetworks, such as a wireless communications network, an Internet, apersonal area network, a local area network, a metropolitan areanetwork, a wide area network, and so forth. It should be noted that theunderlying concept of the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionwould not change if additional blocks were added to or removed fromdiagram 100.

Portable device 102, in one embodiment, includes a mood-based hapticdevice 112, a sensing device 114, and a haptic generator 128. Additionalcomponents, such as a display 108, a keyboard 110, and an antenna 116,can be added to device 102. It should be noted that portable device 102can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (“PDA”), a cellularphone, a portable computer, a haptic watch, a haptic necklace, or thelike. Portable device 106, on the other hand, includes a mood-basedhaptic device 122, a sensing device 124, and a haptic generator 130.Similarly, additional components, such as a display 118, a keyboard 120,and an antenna 126 may also be added to portable device 106. Portabledevice 102 and 106 may be the same or different devices, but they arecapable of communicating with one another as long as they are bothequipped with mood-based haptic devices.

Sensing device 114, in one embodiment, includes multiple sensorsconfigured to sense and collect mood information relating to a user. Forexample, sensing device 114 employs sensors to detect and/or collectmood information via various modalities or user's mood states, whichinclude, but not limited to, user's facial expressions, voice pitches,and/or user's biometrics. The biometrics, which is a subset of user'smood states, further include body temperature, body humidity orperspiration, heart pulse or rate, breathing rhythms, body posture, handgestures or movements, and so forth. After obtaining the moodinformation, a digital processing unit, which could be onboard withportable device 102 or 106, identifies user's current mood and/orpsychological condition(s) based on the collected mood information. Theinformation relating to user's mood is subsequently forwarded tointerested parties, who can be the user himself or herself or person(s)who is interacting with the user. For example, when two persons aretalking over cellular phones, either party can sense the other person'smood over the mood-based haptic mechanism.

Sensing device 114, alternatively, also includes sensors to detectambient conditions. For example, sensing device 114 collects ambientinformation relating to surroundings such as whether temperature,humidity, lighting, atmosphere pressure, and the like. Sensing device114 and/or mood-based haptic device 112 can use ambient informationtogether with the mood information to assess user's mood. It should benoted that ambient information can also indicate whether the user is ina hostile or friendly environment.

In an operation, user A, not shown in FIG. 1, uses portable device 102talking and/or communicating with user B through portable device 106.Upon sensing user A's mood via sensing device 114, mood-based hapticdevice 112 sends the mood information of user A to portable device 106via network 104. After receipt of the mood information, haptic generator130 generates and sends a haptic feedback to user B indicating the moodof user A. Similarly, user A can also sense user B's mood via hapticgenerator 128 in the same or similar manner.

With the advent of advanced sensing technologies capable of detectingdifferent aspects of human mood as well as environment conditions,artificial intelligence or computer assessment for human behaviorsand/or psychological conditions with high-degree of accuracy isincreasingly achievable. For example, sophisticated signal processingunit can process image, voice, and biometrics information to generatewealth of mood information or attributes to indicate mood or physicalcondition of a human or a user. Once the mood information is processed,haptic feedback is generated in view of the mood information, whereinthe haptic feedback can be sent to the user, and/or to a communityinteracting with the user. Portable device 102 or 106 can be a hand helddevice, a wearable computer device, or other surrounding devices capableof identifying user's mood from various modalities. Portable device 102is capable of providing mood-based haptic feedback to user(s) in thevicinity or over a remote location.

In one example, to sense a user's mood, a sensing technique fordetecting facial expressions, voice analysis, and/or biometrics sensingcan be employed. The sensing technique for instance can use a videocamera to observe user's facial expressions. From certain facialexpressions, user's emotional state can be deduced from videorecordings. It should be noted that technology of analyzing facialimages to infer human emotional state of mind has been matured andavailable. It should be further noted that video camera(s) is generallyavailable with the device such as a camera on a phone or PDS.

The sensing technique may also employ various sound or audio sensors torecord and/or facilitate voice analysis. It should be noted that voicefrequency and voice intensity while talking on the phone may inferuser's mood. For biometrics sensing, different sensors can be used tomeasure body temperature, humidity (or perspiration), breathing rhythm,and/or heart pulse to indicate user's mood or conditions. For example, ahaptic wrist band or necklace can be used to sense the heat pulse aswell as predicting the mood over time.

Depending on the applications, different modalities may be used togenerate targeted mood-based haptic feedback. For example, to share ahappy state of mind with a friend while talking over the phone, thecommunication can be augmented by sending from one user's phone toanother with haptic cues signalizing the happy mood or pleasant state ofmind. To capture user emotional state while dialing or talking on a cellphone, a digital camera or video camera on the cell phone, for instance,can be used to capture and then transmit captured mood information orfacial expressions to the user being called.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the haptic system includes portable devices102 and 106 wherein each portable device further includes one or moresensors and actuators. The sensors and actuators, in one aspect, can beconstructed on the same device. Sensors are used to detect userconditions while actuators are used to provide haptic feedback inaccordance with the user conditions. For example, a heart rate sensor iscapable of sensing user's heart rate while a temperature sensor measuresthe user's body temperature. Detected information such as heart rate andbody temperature are subsequently processed, and a series of hapticfeedback are generated indicating current user's mood. It should benoted that the terms haptic feedback can be referred to as tactileeffect, tactile feedback, haptic effect, force feedback, vibrotactilefeedback, haptic cues, and so forth.

The mood-based haptic device can communicate between themselves via awireless network 104. The wireless communications network may includelocal radio frequencies, Bluetooth, cellular (GPRS, CDMA, GSM, CDPD,2.5G, 3G, etc.), Ultra-WideBand (UWB), WiMax, ZigBee, and/or otherad-hoc/mesh wireless network technologies. To reduce power consumption,device 102 or 106 can also use a relay station to amplify signalstrength to conserve the power. For example, a relay station can receivehaptic signals from other haptic device used by other users to conservepower and coverage.

Device 102 or 106 can also be used in individual or team sports such aspoker players, swimmers in water polo, or cyclists on a tour to identifythe mood condition of athlete. For example, device 102 may inform one ofthe cyclists to speed up or slow down to improve team performance inaccordance with detected mood or psychological information. It should benoted that device 102 can also be used for other applications such asmonitoring mentally unstable patients in a mental institution.

Haptic system, in one embodiment, can include multiple units whereinsome of the units may be located in the chest, wrist, foot, and/or thelike to sense user's mood. Haptic generator 128, for example, is capableof generating haptic cues or haptic warning signals at different levelsof intensities for different levels of mood swings. For example, hapticgenerator 128 generates a minor haptic cue when the user is slightlyunhappy, and generates an intensified haptic cue when the user is mad.It should be noted that using tactile feedback to indicate the user'sphysiological conditions can be a subtle, discreet, and non-intrusivecommunication method.

Sensing device 114 and haptic generator 128 can be combined orfabricated into a single device. For example, vibrotactile feedback orhaptic feedback may be provided through a piezo material, shape memoryalloy (“SMA”), eccentric rotating mass “ERM”) or linear resonantactuator (“LRA”), or the like. Piezoelectric material, in oneembodiment, may be used to perform both sensing functions and actuatingfunction. Some haptic materials such as piezoelectric material have thephysical property of sensing as well as providing vibrotactile effect.For example, piezoelectric material discharges a current indicating itdetected a pressure when its physical shape deforms due to a pressure.The dimension of piezoelectric material can be reduced to a relativelysmall size such as 5 millimeters by 5 millimeters. Piezoelectricmaterials, in one embodiment, include crystals and/or ceramics such asquartz (SiO.sub.2). When a voltage potential applies to thepiezoelectric material, it deforms from its original shape to anexpanded shape. Piezoelectric material may return to its original stateas soon as the voltage potential is removed. Piezoelectric material,however, releases a current when it is being pressed. As a result,piezoelectric material can detect an input when it is being pressed.Similar functions of sensor/actuator may be performed if thepiezoelectric material is replaced with other materials or devices, suchas LRA, ERM, and SMA. SMA, in one example, is capable of maintaining itsdeformed shape for a period of time after the voltage potential isremoved. It should be noted that the underlying concept of theembodiments of the present invention does not change if differentmaterials other than piezoelectric actuators are employed.

An advantage of employing a mood-based haptic feedback is that it isessentially creating a communication channel to transmit moodinformation between the callers. The mood-based haptic system can beapplied to variety of applications, such as conversations betweenmultiple parties, team sports, military missions, interrogations,patient monitoring, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram 200 illustrating an exemplary application of anautomobile having a mood-based haptic system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. Diagram 200 includes an automobile202 and a network 204, wherein automobile 202 further includes asteering wheel 206 having a mood-based haptic device 208. It should benoted that the underlying concept of the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention would not change if additional devices and blocks wereadded to or removed from diagram 200.

Automobile 202, in one embodiment, includes a sensing device, a hapticgenerator, and a mood processing unit, not shown in FIG. 2, wherein thehaptic generator can be incorporated with mood-based haptic device 208.Upon detecting the driver's mood condition, the haptic generator iscapable of generating various haptic feedbacks to indicate driver'slevel of fatigue, alertness, distraction, and/or soberness. The hapticgenerator may vibrate the driver's seat to relieve driver's stress or towake-up the driver. For example, wheel 206 generates vibrotactilefeedback by activating mood-based haptic device 208 to remind the driverthat he or she is too tired to continue operating the vehicle.Alternatively, the haptic generator can also broadcast driver's physicalcondition (or effectiveness) to interested parties, such as familymembers, company personal, highway patrol, and so forth. It should benoted that a similar mood-based haptic system can be applied to train,airline, and/or shipping industries.

During an operation, the sensing device of automobile 202 reads sensedinputs such as perspiration, facial expression, voice, heartbeat, etcetera from the driver. After processing sensed inputs, the moodprocessing unit deduces driver's state of mind, mood, feeling, et ceterain accordance with the sensed inputs. Upon identifying driver's moodcondition, the haptic generator generates haptic feedback to indicatedriver's present mood.

In one aspect, the mood-based haptic device 208 is configured to changethe state of mind or mood (from sad to happy) of the same user.Moreover, device 208 can also be used to maintain user's current stateof mind or mood (relaxation state, high concentration) of the same userby providing certain type of haptic feedback. Also, device 208 iscapable of transmitting the same haptic effect to a third partyindividual or multiple individuals, such as a network group.

FIG. 3 is a diagram 250 illustrating an exemplary application in a videogame environment having a mood-based haptic system in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. Diagram 250 includes a terminal256, a game console 252, and a game controller 254, wherein themood-based haptic controller 258-260 are placed in game console 252 andin controller 260. It should be noted that the underlying concept of theexemplary embodiment of the present invention would not change ifadditional devices or blocks were added to or removed from diagram 250.

For a gaming device, the game, in one embodiment, can adapt to a levelof difficulty or environment depending on the mood or emotion of theplayer. For example, when the sensing device of mood-based hapticcontroller 258 or 260 senses a relaxed player (e.g. low humidity), thegame console automatically increases the game to a more difficult levelor a different game event. Alternatively, when sensing device ofmood-based haptic controller 258 or 260 senses a tensed or excited mood(e.g. high humidity), the game console adjusts the game to an easierlevel or a different game event. In other words, the game console canmonitor and determine how ‘cool’ the user is when he or she plays thegame.

In an alternative embodiment, mood-based haptic system can also be usedto enhance efficiency in work related environment or settings. Forexample, the speed of a manufacturing assembling line may be adjusted inaccordance with workers' moods detected by the mood-based haptic system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a mood-based haptic system capable of communicatingwith other devices in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Diagram 300 includes a portable or wearable interface device302, a PC 304, a cellular phone 306, a PDA 308, a server 310, and aprocessing device 312, which is capable of executing instructions. Itshould be noted that the underlying concept of the exemplary embodimentof the present invention would not change if additional blocks such aspower supply were added to or removed from diagram 300.

Device 302 further includes a sensor 320, an internal filter 322, aselector 324, a generator 326, and a haptic output device 328. In oneembodiment, sensor 320 is configured to detect facial expressions, voicepitches, and biometrics in connection with the user of device 302.Filter 322 is used to filter any extraneous information such as unwantedimages and voices, which are considered as natural and/or surroundingnoises as oppose to mood information from the user. In anotherembodiment, internal filter 322 is located in a host computer, whereinthe filtering process is implemented by a host processor. Generator 326generates commands in response to the filtered mood information andtransmits the input commands to one or more processing devices such asPC 304 or PDA 308 via various communication channels 332-338, which maybe wired or wireless communications.

Selector 324 includes one or more haptic libraries used for storinghaptic data containing a list of haptic effects. In one embodiment, thelist of haptic effects is used to provide a haptic feedback to a user inaccordance with the detected mood information. Each mood detection orinput, for example, may require a unique haptic feedback. It should benoted that the library containing haptic data can also be located in aremote host computer. In an alternative embodiment, haptic data can bedynamically generated and continuously updated to emulate and/orreproduce detected mood state(s). To emulate mood state in real-time,selector 324 is capable of dynamically generating haptic effect toemulate detected mood and/or mood state(s). Haptic output device 328generates haptic feedback in accordance with the haptic data fromselector 324. For example, a vibration effect emulates a happy mood.

A function of device 302 is to communicate mood-based haptic feedback toone or more devices, such as laptop 304, cellular phone 306, PDA 308,server 310, and so on, at the same time. It should be noted thatcomponents 320-328 can also be distributed into several differententities depending on the applications. Device 302 can communicate withother devices 304-310 via cable connections, wireless connections, and acombination of wire and wireless networks.

FIG. 5 illustrates a processing unit 500 capable of processingmood-based haptic information in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. Unit 500 includes a processing unit 501, an interfacebus 511, and an input/output (“IO”) unit 520. Processing unit 501includes a processor 502, a main memory 504, a system bus 511, a staticmemory device 506, a bus control unit 505, a mass storage memory 507,and a mood control 530. Bus 511 is used to transmit information betweenvarious components and processor 502 for data processing. Processor 502may be any of a wide variety of general-purpose processors ormicroprocessors, such as Pentium™ microprocessor, Intel® Core™2 Duo,Intel® Core™2 Quad, Intel® Xeon®, AMD Athlon™ processor, Motorola™68040, or Power PC™ microprocessor. Mood control 530 generates hapticfeedback in response to mood-based input signals.

Main memory 504, which may include multiple levels of cache memories,stores frequently used data and instructions. Main memory 504 may be RAM(random access memory), MRAM (magnetic RAM), or flash memory. Staticmemory 506 may be a ROM (read-only memory), which is coupled to bus 511,for storing static information and/or instructions. Bus control unit 505is coupled to buses 511-512 and controls which component, such as mainmemory 504 or processor 502, can use the bus. Bus control unit 505manages the communications between bus 511 and bus 512. Mass storagememory 507, which may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, hard diskdrive, floppy disk, CD-ROM, and/or flash memories for storing largeamounts of data. Actuator control module 530, in one embodiment, is anindependent component (IC) that performs functions of haptic effectcontrol. A function of actuator control 530 is to drive one or morehaptic actuators 524, which could be a remote wearable ring. In anotherembodiment, actuator control module 530 may reside within processor 502,main memory 504, and/or static memory 506.

I/O unit 520, in one embodiment, includes a flexible display 521,keyboard 522, cursor control device 523, and communication device 525.Keyboard 522 may be a conventional alphanumeric input device forcommunicating information between processing unit 500 and computeroperator(s). Another type of user input device is cursor control device523, such as a conventional mouse, touch mouse, trackball, a finger orother type of cursor for communicating information between unit 500 anduser(s). Communication device 525 is coupled to bus 512 for accessinginformation from remote computers or servers through wide-area network.Communication device 525 may include a modem or a wireless networkinterface device, or other similar devices that facilitate communicationbetween unit 500 and the network.

The exemplary embodiment(s) of the present invention includes variousprocessing steps, which will be described below. The steps of theembodiments may be embodied in machine or computer executableinstructions. The instructions can be used to cause a general purpose orspecial purpose system which is programmed with the instructions toperform the steps of the embodiment(s) of the present invention.Alternatively, the steps of embodiment(s) of the present invention maybe performed by specific hardware components that contain hard-wiredlogic for performing the steps, or by any combination of programmedcomputer components and custom hardware components.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart 600 illustrating a process of providing mood-basedhaptic feedback in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. At block 602, a process capable of generating haptic feedbackbased on mood information senses a first event associated with a user.In one example, the process is configured to sense facial expressions,voices, and heart rates in connection to the user. In another example,the process can detect user's biometrics, such as body temperature andbreathing rhythms.

At block 604, the process generates a sensing signal in response to thefirst event. In one embodiment, the process provides a happy indicatorindicating the user's current mood when the first event indicates ahappy mood. Alternatively, the process is capable of providing a sadindicator indicating user's current mood when the first event indicatesa sad mood.

At block 606, the process receives the sensing signal via a network andsubsequently, user's conditions or mood based on the sensing signal isdetermined. The process is also capable of obtaining the sensing signalthrough a wireless communications network. It should be noted thatuser's mood can be sampled continuously and user's mood can be updatedaccordingly.

At block 608, the process generates a haptic signal in accordance withthe user's condition and forwarding the haptic signal to a hapticgenerator. In one embodiment, the process also sends the haptic signalto another haptic system operated by another user via a communicationsnetwork.

At block 610, the process generates a haptic feedback in response to thehaptic signal. In one embodiment, the process adjusts levels ofdifficulties of a game in accordance with the user's condition or mood.In another embodiment, the process provides an alert signal indicatingthe user's condition or mood. The process is, in one example, capable ofsensing a second event associated with ambient condition. For instance,the process is capable of detecting temperature of a surroundingenvironment.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be obvious to those of ordinary skills in the artthat, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may bemade without departing from this invention and its broader aspects.Therefore, the appended claims are intended to encompass within theirscope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spiritand scope of the exemplary embodiment(s) of is present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A haptic system, comprising: a sensor configuredto sense a mood of a user of the haptic system; a haptic generatorconfigured to dynamically generate a haptic signal to emulate the moodsensed by the sensor, the haptic signal comprising an intensity levelbased on the sensed mood; and a transmitter configured to automaticallytransmit the haptic signal, upon sensing the mood, to a wearable deviceconfigured to worn by the user; wherein the wearable device comprises ahaptic output device that generates haptic feedback based on thereceived haptic signal.
 2. The haptic system of claim 1, wherein thesensor is configured to sense at least one biometric of the user.
 3. Thehaptic system of claim 2, wherein the biometric comprises at least oneof: body temperature, body humidity or perspiration, heart pulse orrate, breathing rhythms, body posture, or hand gestures or movements. 4.The haptic system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is a hapticwatch.
 5. The haptic system of claim 1, wherein the haptic systemexecutes a game, further comprising changing a difficulty level of thegame based on the sensed mood.
 6. The haptic system of claim 1, whereinthe haptic generator is configured to generate the haptic signal so thatthe haptic feedback maintains the mood of the user.
 7. The haptic systemof claim 1, wherein the haptic output device comprises one of a piezomaterial, a shape memory alloy, an eccentric rotating mass or a linearresonant actuator.
 8. A method of generating haptic effects for a hapticsystem, the method comprising: sensing a mood of a user of the hapticsystem using a sensor; dynamically generating a haptic signal to emulatethe mood sensed by the sensor, the haptic signal comprising an intensitylevel based on the sensed mood; and transmitting the haptic signal,automatically upon sensing the mood, to a wearable device configured toworn by the user; wherein the wearable device comprises a haptic outputdevice that generates haptic feedback based on the received hapticsignal.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the sensor is configured tosense at least one biometric of the user.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the biometric comprises at least one of: body temperature, bodyhumidity or perspiration, heart pulse or rate, breathing rhythms, bodyposture, or hand gestures or movements.
 11. The method of claim 8,wherein the wearable device is a haptic watch.
 12. The method of claim8, wherein the haptic system executes a game, further comprisingchanging a difficulty level of the game based on the sensed mood. 13.The method of claim 8, wherein the haptic generator is configured togenerate the haptic signal so that the haptic feedback maintains themood of the user.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the haptic outputdevice comprises one of a piezo material, a shape memory alloy, aneccentric rotating mass or a linear resonant actuator.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable medium having instructions storedthereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor togenerate haptic effects for a haptic system, the generating comprising:sensing a mood of a user of the haptic system using a sensor;dynamically generating a haptic signal to emulate the mood sensed by thesensor, the haptic signal comprising an intensity level based on thesensed mood; and transmitting the haptic signal, automatically uponsensing the mood, to a wearable device configured to worn by the user;wherein the wearable device comprises a haptic output device thatgenerates haptic feedback based on the received haptic signal.
 16. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the sensor is configuredto sense at least one biometric of the user, wherein the biometriccomprises at least one of: body temperature, body humidity orperspiration, heart pulse or rate, breathing rhythms, body posture, orhand gestures or movements.
 17. The computer readable medium of claim15, wherein the wearable device is a haptic watch.
 18. The computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the haptic system executes a game,further comprising changing a difficulty level of the game based on thesensed mood.
 19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein thehaptic generator is configured to generate the haptic signal so that thehaptic feedback maintains the mood of the user.
 20. The computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the haptic output device comprisesone of a piezo material, a shape memory alloy, an eccentric rotatingmass or a linear resonant actuator.